Virus's Story
by Xena's Story
Summary: This is my OC Virus's background story. Deal with it. [BASED ON A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE INVADER ZIM ORIGINAL STORY.]
1. Beginnings

"Don't go...what if i never see you again..?"  
"Don't worry, even if don't come back,just...dont forget me..."  
And with that I climbed into my Voot Cruiser and took off. Leaving her behind in dust and tears.

I am Invader Vex. Or at least I was. Now I'm just a manifestation of data with its own complex mind and feelings. I travel through my-er, his pak,fixing any problems that come to be and am unfortunately, a single-minded conscious for him. 'Him', being my host in a way, Invader Cipher.

Ok, let's start from the beginning...I was born as a normal smeet. Trained as a soldier and soon-to-be invader, i had been put through rough conditions, just as any other smeet who wanted to be great enough to become an invader. It was hard, but i tolerated it. I followed every demeaning order and did their horrible tasks. I never questioned anyone's authority and held all my loyalty to the tallest...until one day...things changed.

The tallest came to the facility i was being trained at, to pick new invaders. I was lined up with the rest of the smeets and stood proudly[as i was somewhat taller than the rest].They hovered over to me and i instantly felt a pint of anger. I don't know why but their presence just angered me as if they had done something wrong or were going to. I peeked up at them and saw them just staring at me.

"he's tall,i like him."[Tallest Purple]

"yea...a bit TOO tall..." [Tallest Red]

They whispered some words to my Trainer and looked at me again. "Look up at your leaders lowly smeet, and state your government" said my Trainer. I looked up with a straight face and with a nearly robotic like voice[as was trained to sound like,a mindless drone], stated who i was:

"Smeet #77829, Vex, Sector JY8"

The Tallest looked at each other and the feeling of hatred grew. " Thats a low sector,do you even have a base? or even a snack bar?" they then laughed and hovered away. Blinking in disbelief i looked at my Trainer and he said something I will never forget: "You've just been deemed a lowlife citizen. Be proud" Proud? Proud of what?! Being a dirty smeet only worthy of working on Foodcourtia or even Planet Dirt? How DARE they! And thats when i snapped. All the bits of respect i had for them disintegrated just as fast as i could blink.


	2. Building Hatred

"The Tallest are nothing but idiotic figure heads. They don't deserve to rule."  
"Join us. Join The Resistance"  
It had been a while since my first encounter with the Tallest. I was already appointed an Invader despite their opinion of me being 'a lowlife citizen'. Ironically, they appointed me themselves in The Great Assigning. The planet i was sent to was easy to conquer. So it was done in a matter of days [at least 3 earth days]. I was acknowledged for my easy triumph, but it seemed as an insult for some reason. It just didn't feel right to be doing this to planets for THEM.  
Eveyone knew of The Resistance. The resistance against the Tallest. Amazingly it was popular among a lot of Irkens, but being a part of it meant being hunted down and killed. So there was barely any hugely known groups. I, however, knew all of them. I had used my spare time to find out about them,being the tech wiz i was,and had made friends among many groups. A lot of them were just like me, they were shunned by the Tallest in their own way, for mostly stupid reasons. Which made them hate the Tallest even more. Lots of them saw me as a role model. I had been working for the Tallest although i had clearly shown my hate for them. How? It was during my assigning.  
I was called up to be given a planet to conquer. I stood proudly despite the rage I was hiding inside. They said their compliments[which I found little insults in] and went to picking me a planet.  
"heres a good one, this planet would be perfect for a lowly citizen of your stature."  
And thats when i snapped.  
"Why thank you My Oh-So-Great and Incredibly STUPID Tallest. I acknowledge the fact that you actually can choose pretty decent places despite the fact that you're both so intolerably idiotic." -insert me bowing- " and unless you have the mind to banish me or even delete me, Ill be on my way to my planet"  
And with that i left. And the whole place was dead silent. Their face expressions were priceless. and I even heard a low cheer from someone in the back of the audience,probably a resistance member.  
I didn't need a SIR unit, so i left immediately. Not because i was scared they would chase me or something, but because i wanted things to change while i was gone. And you would believe they did. When i came back everyone knew who i was and what i did. Some hated me, some loved me, all had seen me with different opinions. And thats when i found out I had followers. Thats when I started getting threats. Thats when I lost all care for the Tallest.  
Thats when i became a part of the resistance.


	3. Love

"They're gonna get whats coming to them,whether we fail or succeed,they will get hit,hard"  
I met someone. Someone who's been through more than I have. Well,up until my current situation,but still a lot. Her name was Iana. She was a scientist. She worked for the Tallest, somewhat being one of their secret workers. She experimented on other Irkens at the Tallests' demands and did...horrible things to them. She did it sometimes against her will,but only when it involved smeets. She oddly doesn't mind what she does,which is what I admired about her. Despite having to do horrible things to people, it was for a somewhat worthy cause. She found cures to diseases and found knew ways to find out the psychological problems of some Irkens. Which is how she met me.  
It was a mandatory check-up, everyone had to do it. Well,all the people the Tallest thought were a little off. Of course they told me to do it. Of course they sent me to someone with a lot of experience and a 'prying mind'.  
When i walked in, she gasped a bit. Not because of who i was, but because she found me attractive[which I had found out later]. It was an odd feeling for an Irken but i didn]t question it for the fact that i felt the same way about her. I sat on one of the normal hospital chairs as she asked me various questions, and did what therapists usually do. Yes,she was being used as a therapist at the moment,which kinda bothered me in a way. Anyways, i just sat there watching her as she glanced up at me every now and then,pulling up her collar and trying not to stare for too long. 

"So...what are you thinking right now?" 

I half jumped at the question, for the fact that i was spacing out a bit and that it was out of nowhere. 

"Nothing really." She blinked unconvinced. "Ok, Im wondering why youre doing this" 

She looked a bit taken aback for a moment but then her natural straight and emotionless face came back and she simply answered "I really don't have a choice" In curiosity and confusion,I tilted my head a bit. "What do you mean? Everyone has a choice." Her collar shifted over her mouth a bit, telling me that she had smiled. " I admire your intellect you know..but..sadly, i really don't have a choice. If i don't do this job, what am i good for? The Tallest are very powerful people. They have influence over everything,so whenever someone doubts them or goes against them,the Tallest can make nearly the entire planet hate them." I realized that she had warped the question into something about me. I caught on quickly and decided to play along. "Yeah, I understand that, but either way you still have a choice on how to take that hatred and can move on without paying it any mind. Eventually the ones who hate you will move on too once they see you don't care. So why not take a chance?". She blinked in surprise. "I..." She looked at the ground for a minute,then looked at her clipboard. Deep down i felt a pinge of regret for saying that,and it worsened when she looked up at me with an unreadable expression. "Your time is up Vex, please leave. I will see you again...once the Tallest..allow it.." And with that, I got up unwillingly and headed to the door. I looked back at her,only to see her looking back at the floor,and said one last thing, "You know...Your thoughts on logic might be keeping you from seeing the truth..but then again...i could be wrong. You could know the truth all to well..." Then I left,leaving her trapped in her thoughts, looking straight where I was.


	4. Departure

"There will be sacrifices made...whether we planned them or not.."  
I stood at the landing pad. About to board my Voot Cruiser. The shallow winds of Planet Sploorch blowing against me. With the scent of readiness and determination.  
It had all been planned out. I ,after a long time of quiet research and secret meetings,had become a leader of a rebellion group. We didn't really have a name, but were unofficially known as The Resisty's Shadow. Why? Because we were a rebel team made up of 'defects' and shunned Irkens. Just like many of the Resistance members you see now. We were also more of an undercover group. We got info on the Tallest that no one but the original Resisty knew about. We also shipped new info over to them. Sometimes we were payed, but i really didn't care about the money we earned. My reward would be to see the Tallest embarrassed in front of everyone, to see THEM get shunned. To see THEM get hated. Most of all, to see them FALL. Now I was on my way to attack.

"Don't go...what if i never see you again..?" 

I was boarding my cruiser, holding onto her hand. Iana's hand. 

"Don't worry, even if don't come back,just...don't forget me..." 

She was actually able to slip the Tallest's notice and defy their rules just to see me. The day she showed up at my secret place, a high rooftop overlooking a good view of the eastern side city on Irk, is when i realized we shared something. We shared what I soon learned from the humans through Cipher, a thing called 'love'. Now I was about to leave her forever. Unintentionally of course...but who really has control over that? I gave her one last hug, the last touch i would ever feel from her. I long for that feeling again. And with that, i let go of her hand, climbed into my Voot Cruiser and took off. Leaving her behind in dust and tears. While leading an army of 25 into battle. A battle that none of us will forget.


	5. Infiltration

"We will lose many today,but it'll be worth it...right?" 

We were off. All of us. Towards the Tallest's ship. The Massive. 

Many Irkens are still shocked we took on such a ship with all its power. But we had plans from The Resisty. We knew their blind spots. We knew their weaknesses. Their overly stupid weaknesses.

Like the snack compartment. That was our first target. 

Some few ships and i were the 'invaders' of The Massive. We would come in through a waste vent, located on a blind spot between the two parts of The Massive. A pretty obvious entrance that was easily overlooked and ignored. While a team of 3 distracted The Tallest by invading their airspace, another team of 3 would target their technical systems. Something I personally came up with that to this day, still infects The Massive. I called it SINV, Systematic Inter-communicative Network Virus. It was a heavily loaded virus that overrides even the most complicated of systems and renders their defenses useless. But every bug has its own problem. Mine was that it only lasts for about 4 minutes. So with our infiltration, we had to do it quick and simple. All our goal really was, was to throw the Tallest off track and show them that they are touchable. That they aren't invincible with their publicity and over-protection. That they can get hit hard.  
All was going well. The Tallest were freaking out like the pansies they were, after I ordered some of my back-up cruisers to fire some warning shots. The back-up was a good distance away so that they weren't easily picked up on radar and were scattered so that if anything,they seemed like innocent bystanders. But were far from innocent in reality. My group of ship-invaders were already on our way through the waste vent, getting towards the main control part of The Massive where the Tallest were. Or at least where we originally thought they were. Yeah, we mis-calculated a bit. They were already on high alert and hoarding food from the snack area. Trying to save every last pitiful morsel as if it were the end of the universe,and that was all that mattered. But i didn't know that unfortunately,and when my team stealthily got in and knocked out everyone in the control room,we had to improvise.  
I immediately took control of The Massive's defense system and infected The Massive even more with SINV. This time saving it onto its main system so that it can remain there for anytime infection. At the same time my team of 3 who were sent to destroy the snacks compartment sent me a message that named doom for us. 

"They know we're here! They know who we are! Our plan was given out by a traitor! We-"

And with that last word the message was lost. And everything turned for the worst.


	6. Retreat

"Vex! NO!" 

It was chaos. Unbelievable chaos. The Tallest knew we were here and sent immediate forces against us. The ships...the ships I sent towards the snacks compartment were obliterated. The distractions...2 out of 3 were gone. The back-up...more than half were damaged. 1/4 were destroyed. Out of 25, only 7 were spared. Or at least they were able to get away. A few from my team, on my demand, escaped in escape pods. Others were killed on sight. Soon... I was the only one left of my resistance team...injured, but still determined. I was running through The Massive. Looking for a way to escape. All the rest of the escape pods were damaged or destroyed after a good air battle between The Massive and my back-up. Bless their lost souls...they didn't deserve this I soon realized,but they chose their fate. Just as I chose mine. 

"What a pitiful plan little Irken!" Tallests' Red and Purple's voices echoed on the loud speaker. "Yeah, we put our snacks in a safe place so that you couldn't get to them!" 

Gawd they were so stupid,they didnt even know who was attacking. But unfortunately, Tallest Red was right. This turned out to be a pretty pitiful plan. Here i was, running for my life, being chased by Elite guards, heading blindly through a maze.  
Every corner I turned was either blocked by wreckage or blocked by guards. Till eventually, I ran out of stamina. To my surprise, I was slowing down. Everything was becoming blurry. Thats when i saw it: the guards were wearing face masks. Covered up in equipment i hadn't seen before. I tried my purifier for air, like we use in space, but it wouldn't work. If anything it made the air heavier. I came to a dead end blocked by flaming wreckage. I turned around and was hyperventilating. Why couldn't i breathe? The guards were coming in close and I had nowhere to go. The world...it was spinning. By the time they got there i was on my hands and knees gasping for air. As a last resort i fought off a few with my pak claws and hand-gun i picked up while running. But all of it was too much. Soon i found myself being pinned to the floor and shocked by tazer rods. The pain was unbearable and now I really couldn't breathe. But before i blacked out, i saw the hovering feet of the Tallest. 

"Invader Vex...why am i not surprised? You really gave us a scare, but we got you now." 

And then there was darkness.


	7. Fear

"You promised you would come back..." 

I was back where my life started. Here to end it. I was in a room, with the Control Brain. 

I was suspended in mid-air when I awoke. Hanging by wires and tubes attached to my pak. I was only barely conscious, but i was still aware of what was around me. Below me was a puddle of my own blood from the wounds I had gained from earliers events. To each side of me were the Tallest: hovering over raised platforms and each with a computer at their side. In front of me was Irk's very life. One of the few lives actually. A Control Brain. Most likely, the one from the sector i was born in. I'm not going to lie, i was petrified of the raw power it held that just lied under its computer screens and data banks. And here i was, about to face some of it. 

"This Irken is defective. He holds one of the defective paks that doesn't supply a undying loyalty to his superiors. He must be dealt with immediately." 

Tallest Red...that bastard. At least he's smarter than his colleague Tallest Purple, who only had to say: "He wanted our snacks too! -insert him stuffing his face with popcorn- Our SNACKS!"

If I could just go up to each of them and give them a good backhand to the face I would, but being in the state I was in, I couldn't do a thing. All I could manage to do was say in a harsh and weak voice: "Liar.." They utterly ignored my comment and continued: 

" We ask for your assistance in this process by hopefully...erasing his existence. Just so that we can be sure hes not a threat even if we do erase his memory. His influence on others could drive him to wanting to know who he was and why he was so important. That could bring his memory back and make him even more of a threat" 

Eh, he had a point. I would just hate them even more if that happened. But the though of me being gone forever...never to see Iana or any of the few real friends i had again...was just... 

"Your Request Is Considerable. Although The Irken Hasn't Technically Done Anything Wrong-" Wh-what? Did the Control Brain just defend me? I-it understands..."-But It Is Questionable On Why He Disobeys You. Scans On His Pak Show A Lack Of Information About Your Greatness. This Must Be The Reason Behind His Actions. Your Request Has Been Confirmed. He Is Defective."...oh...i guess...it doesn't understand... 

Then this is where things get blurry for me. I really don't remember much of it,but what i do remember is very distinct.


	8. Deleted

"Get out of my head! who are you?!" "Im Virus" 

You never know real pain until its forced upon you. 

I remember seeing each of the Tallest go over to the control panels on their computers. I remember them saying something about me but I don't remember what. Then there was a slight pain on my back, like if someone was slowly putting a knifes edge into it. Gradually the pain got worse and I felt myself gasping like if I couldn't breathe and convulsing a bit. Then the pain stopped and I was left panting. My vision was blurred and I could barely see the floor below me. I managed to tilt my head up a bit and I saw the Tallest just standing there smiling and watching me as if I was one of their favorite puppet shows. Then the pain started again. 

This time the pain shot up my back. I remember letting out a cry of pain and hearing the Tallest laugh. It was unbearable. I had never felt something so horrible in my life. The worst part was that i couldn't even control my movements. I was convulsing in mid-air, unable to use the reflex everyone has: the instinct to squeeze up into a ball to center the pain instead of letting it spread everywhere. It was just horrible. I knew i was loosing my life when memories started replaying in my head. The day I obtained my pak and recited my name for the first time. The day I started the Military Training Academy for my goal of becoming an Invader. The first time I met the Tallest. The day I graduated. The day I was assigned my first planet. The first time I conquered a planet. The day I heard about the Rebellion. The day I joined the Rebellion. The day I met Iana. The day she found me on the roof. The moment I had with her before I left for my attack. The moment I realized the attack was failing. The moment I,heavy-heartedly,demanded my crew,who bared tears and sorrowful goodbyes,to escape and leave me behind. Up to now. The more i remembered,the worse the pain got. And the pain never went away. The pain never subsided due to numbness. I realized that getting deleted was different from dying. The pain doesn't go away after awhile like my best friend had told me as he died in my arms, during one of the Tallest's attempts to rid themselves of the rebellion by attacking their meetings. The pain stays with you. It doesn't go away until you're completely out of your body. Which I was about to find out. 

All at once the pain stopped and I felt myself falling. Only, I never hit the ground. I was falling into blackness filled with little numbers. The numbers were rapidly changing, like data on a computer screen I realized. I also realized that I didn't have a body. All I saw was a lightning streak of red flowing from what I thought was my head. Was I...data? It seemed that way. I pondered over the thought until I saw something I will never forget.

I saw myself.


	9. Gone

"So your were a real person? An actual flesh and blood Irken?" "Yes...I WAS one..." 

There I was. Lying on the puddle of blood that had been below me. Except I wasn't there. I was here. In this data bank. Watching what used to be me. 

I had gone through the process of being deleted. It was a pain that no one should ever have to go through. Ever. It was the type of pain that you don't forget. The feeling that stays with you forever. It haunts you.

"That Is You." 

The Control Brain was talking to me. I was in the Control Brain. 

"Your Body Will Be Taken To A Morgue. Your Body Was Healthy So It Will Be Preserved." 

Now i knew what was going on. I had researched it earlier in my life out of curiosity. I guess I did foreshadow my fate a bit. My life and all its contents had been taken out of my pak and my life essence had been destroyed. My body was now just a soulless shell. Hollow of any being. My Pak was all that really had anything left of me. I watched as it was pulled out of my lifeless body and sent down a chute. My body was then picked up and taken away. That was the last I ever saw of it. 

Now i was here. In a data bank in the Control Brain. Soon to be sent to the file or container that held all the other erased Irkens. In other words, i didn't exist anymore. And I never would again. Or so I thought. I waited for my data formed body to be pulled into the container with the others but nothing happened. Instead the Control brain said something i'll always be grateful for: 

"On Closer Inspection, Although You Were Defective, You Didn't Deserve This Fate. The Tallest May Have Had Extreme Problems With You But They Only Did This To Leave a Selfish Mark On Those Who Hated Them. To Show Those Who Defied The Tallest Faced The Consequences Of Defying Them. You Were An Unnecessary Sacrifice." 

Sh-she actually understood me...Yes, the Control Brain was a She. Control brains oddly have genders. This one was female. And to my surprise she understood what my situation was. If I had a jaw, it would've dropped. 

" I Will Give You Another Chance At Living. But You Will Not Be Given A Body Of Your Own. Instead You Will Live Inside Your Pak. Given To A New Smeet" 

Im going to live inside my pak? The same one they just threw down a chute? How was that even poss- At soon as I started thinking about it, I felt myself being pulled away. I was instantly racing through blocks of data filled with numbers and various other indescribable things. Next thing i knew everything was thrown into slow motion. There was a blurry picture of what looked like a smeet and I was getting closer to it. As the picture got more clear, I could see my pak being attached to the smeet. Wait, thats my pak,I'm going to live in my pak attached to a smeet? What about the smeets information? Would it have its own mind too? Am I sharing a pak with a complete stranger?! Before I could even think of the answers to the questions racing through my mind I heard the Control Brain speak one final time to me: "This Smeet Will Not Know Of Your Existence Until The Time Is Right. He Is Not Yours To Control. He Will Have His Own Life On The Path He Chooses. Do Not Influence Him Until He Knows Exactly What You Are. This Is Your Final Chance Vex. Make It Right." And with that I felt myself being pulled into my pak and felt the familiar feeling of having all my memories and knowledge back. But there was something else. Another set of data for the being I was living in. I was curious but I knew i wasn't supposed to do anything. This was my new life. I had to make the best of it.


	10. Endings

"You'll be free one day Virus...hopefully.." 

"I am free..free from any of the unnecessary things people have to deal with. I've replaced those things with problems of my own,and thats all I could care about anymore.." 

"But don't you ever want to be able to have your own life? Instead of living off of someones else's?" 

"I suppose...but it would never be the same..." 

The smeet opened its eyes. I was able to see through its eyes,I could see their odd white coloring. The smeet blinked and I heard a subconscious voice: "What is this?" I guess out of instinct, I answered: "This is your new life, embrace it" I knew he heard me when he blinked a couple more times and looked around. The smeet had long antennae that had weirdly had white tips. I felt my data-formed body glitch and heard the smeet gasp as his antenna's tips grew red in color. Later on I realized this was because of me. That that was the only physical representation of me(besides my Pak) that he had on him. 

The smeet was asked his name. Out of another instinct I responded: "I am Vex." But what was heard was: "I am Cipher." I realized that that was the smeets name...Cipher...and I realized to late that he had heard me when I had stated my name. His subconscious responded to it: "What? Thats not who I am." I stood quiet and he shrugged the thought off. Now I decided I had had enough of this pointless interaction and I traveled to the new files my Pak contained, the ones about him. He was missing some information i found out as i looked through every detail. I had been a computer geek when I was alive, so i already knew what i was doing. It exhilarated me in a twisted way though to think that I could do whatever I wanted instead his body. I could control him if I wanted to. I was _untouchable. _But I knew I was wrong. This wasn't my body, I couldn't do a thing. But anyways, it turned out he was also gonna be a big computer wiz. But i wasn't supposed to know that. I wasn't even supposed to be in his part of my Pak. I realized that the Pak wasn't mine anymore either, it was his. I was technically an intruder. 

Many events happened after the day i first met Cipher. He knows who I am,what I've been through, and most of all, what I am now. And now we live off of each other,for each other. 

I am Invader Vex. Or at least I was. Now I'm just a manifestation of data with its own complex mind and feelings. I travel through my-er, his pak,fixing any problems that come to be and am unfortunately, a single-minded conscious for him. 'Him' being my host in a way, Invader Cipher.


End file.
